The fiery scene at O'Hare Friday rekindled
memories of the deadliest plane disaster in American history, which
occurred there 37 years ago.

Doug G. Ware

A fire on the tarmac drew a large emergency response at O'Hare International Airport on Friday.

Flames started in one of the engines of
American Airlines Flight 383, a Boeing 767 headed for Miami, as it was
attempting to take off around 2:30 p.m. CDT.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane blew a tire
on its takeoff roll. The pilots aborted the attempt, stopped the plane
and evacuated the passengers through the safety chutes while still on
the runway.

Officials said the pilots, though, aborted the takeoff due to an engine malfunction -- not the blown tire.

Thick, black smoke billowed from the aircraft as passengers and crew members looked on from a grassy area next to the runway.

Firefighters had extinguished the flames by 3
p.m. None of the 170 people on board the plane were believed to be
injured, officials said.

During the incident, the FAA barred all incoming flights to O'Hare and delayed others from leaving for at least 30 minutes.

The sight of flames and heavy black smoke at
the airport revived memories of the deadliest plane crash in U.S.
aviation history, which occurred at O'Hare nearly 38 years ago.

On May 25, 1979, American Airlines Flight 191 crashed
on the outskirts of the airport after the DC-10's left engine
completely separated from the plane on its takeoff roll -- also ripping
away part of the left wing. The stricken jetliner managed to get
airborne but crashed into a field immediately northeast of the airport
less than a minute later.

All 271 people on board and two on the ground
were killed. The disaster became notable for two things -- enduring for
decades as the United States' deadliest plane crash, and a famous photograph of the jetliner flying on its side taken by a witness just seconds before impact.

An investigation later concluded that the
engine separated from the plane due to negligent maintenance. The FAA
and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate Friday's
incident.